All Best Alor Besar: When Community, Culture, and the Sea Become One Story
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During the Wisma Raya Week 2025 held at the Mini Field of Kalabahi, one corner of the festival grounds stood out for its quiet power. Beneath a simple banner that read “All Best,” the people of Alor Besar Village gathered to present something far greater than just products, a living story of collaboration between community, culture, and the sea.
For the first time, groups of fishers, artisans, and weavers worked side by side with the Nautika Foundation, bringing together the best of Alor’s coastal life in one shared space. Their display was more than an exhibition, it was a celebration of identity and resilience, proof that protecting nature and improving livelihoods can go hand in hand.
A Shared Space of Possibility
The “All Best” stand quickly became a small universe of collaboration. Inside, four community groups showcased their crafts and local innovations.
The Sebanjar Women’s Fish Group highlighted traditional smoked fish products made with local recipes. Pokmaswas Bunga Bali, a community-based surveillance group, introduced their efforts in marine protection and ocean awareness.The Alor Besar Craft (ABC) youth collective presented functional art pieces created from waste wood and discarded fabric.And the Gunung Mako Weaving Center, led by women from the village, displayed woven cloth that colored with natural dye.
Throughout the week, this collaboration brought visible benefits. Community members recorded sales up to three times higher than usual. Visitors from Indonesia and abroad, including from Germany, Singapore, and Australia, stopped by the booth, curious about the story behind each product.
Many stayed longer than they planned. Some bought souvenirs, while others listened to how each product was made, how the smoked fish reflected a generations-old recipe, how the crafts came from repurposed driftwood, and how each woven fabric captured the rhythm of the surrounding landscape. The booth became a small classroom where tradition and sustainability met in harmony.
Beyond the numbers, the experience restored something deeper, a sense of confidence. For many participants, it was the first time their work was recognized not as a small local effort but as part of a larger movement for sustainable living. They went home with income, pride, and the belief that their skills could inspire others.
When Conservation Meets Livelihood
Behind the vibrant displays and the lively atmosphere lies a longer journey that begins beneath the sea. Earlier this year, the Nautika Foundation, together with Pokmaswas Bunga Bali and the Provincial Marine Conservation Agency (UPTD), established a coral nursery site in the waters of Molugara.
The site, once covered in volcanic sand and broken coral, is now slowly transforming. After Ten months, coral fragments have begun to take root. Parrotfish, trevallies, snappers, and even small reef sharks have returned, signaling the recovery of the underwater ecosystem. The once-quiet seafloor is now alive again with movement and color.
For the communities involved, these changes are more than ecological data. They are living proof that conservation succeeds when people take part in it. The initiative has shown that protecting the sea is not an isolated scientific effort but a collective investment in the community’s future. Fishermen who once saw marine protection as a limitation now view it as a promise for their children’s tomorrow.
Weaving Independence Through Collaboration
In Alor Besar, conservation has taken a social form. It is not limited to coral restoration or awareness campaigns. It lives in the rhythms of daily life, in the craft of weaving, in the work of fish processing, and in the creativity of young artisans.
The Wisma Raya festival became a reflection of this process, a moment when community members stood together not as beneficiaries of aid but as partners of change. Each product represented not only skill but also belief, the belief that a healthy sea sustains both nature and human dignity.
Through this collaboration, the Nautika Foundation and the people of Alor Besar are redefining what development means in a coastal context. It is not about taking more from the sea or chasing rapid growth. It is about balance, identity, and continuity. Progress here is measured by how much care is returned to the ocean that provides for them.
From Alor to the World
The story of Alor Besar reminds us that transformation can begin from the smallest spaces, from a modest exhibition stand, from a handful of women weaving, from coral fragments anchored to a sandy seabed.
Step by step, these acts of care build something greater, a sustainable connection between community empowerment and marine conservation. In this coastal village, the future is being woven with patience through dialogue, shared learning, and the conviction that the ocean is not merely a resource but a home.
From Alor, a message flows beyond its turquoise waters, reminding the world that to care for the sea is to care for life itself.
Media Partner :
Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI)
Seputar NTT
https://www.seputar-ntt.com/kolaborasi-nautika-foundation-hidupkan-ekonomi-dan-pelestarian-laut/
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